- Franklin County
Sheriff's Office.
Can I help you?
Hello?
- I was--
what is this with you?
- What's the address?
- Stygler and Agler
by the Speedway!
- Okay. Okay, I need you
to stop screaming
so I can understand you.
What is the address?
- The address is
Stygler and Agler in Gahanna
by the Speedway.
- What's going on?
- Okay, I'm gonna start
by asking you your name.
Full name.
- Is it okay
if I call you Judy?
- Now, do you know a man
named Michael Slager?
- And did you begin dating him
in April 2015?
- I wanna talk to you about
Sunday, August 2nd, 2015.
Do you recall that day?
- On that day,
were you with Mr. Slager?
- A guy just set a woman
on fire.
- Okay, stop screaming
'cause I can't understand you.
I got you--
- Are you serious?
A guy just set
a woman on fire!
- A guy set what on fire?
- A guy just set
a woman on fire!
all: ♪ Happy birthday to you
- Judith.
all: ♪ Happy birthday to you
♪ Happy birthday, dear Judy
♪ Happy birthday to you
- Now, blow out
all the candles.
[laughter]
Keep going.
- No car.
- Nobody gets the car, okay?
- I get the car!
- Those are trick candles.
I just know.
- I kept trying and trying
to have a baby,
and trying and trying
and trying and trying.
I wanted to be a mom,
wanted to be a mom.
And finally...
[solemn music]
♪
Judy was my firstborn.
She made me a mom.
I remember it
like it was yesterday.
It was the happiest time
of my life.
She was my easiest baby,
and she was just
my best friend.
- Mama, did you get that?
[hums]
- She was just loud, happy.
There was nobody
that Judy didn't love.
- [praying]
- Oh, my goodness.
Oh. Oh, no!
- She always would say, "Mom,
I wanna have a simple life.
"I wanna be a school teacher,
"and I just wanna live
in a nice neighborhood
with a husband that loves me,
and two kids."
- People can just say,
like, I love you and all,
and, like, not always mean it,
but for my mom,
like, I always knew that
she, like, actually loved me.
And then, her back rubs?
The best.
They really help you sleep.
[chuckles]
- And Amber,
did you get your bag?
- When I was a little kid,
I would look at my mom,
and I would just wanna grow up
and look exactly like her.
- Nice job!
[cheers and applause]
And then,
after the fire,
I still wanna dig her up
and be like her.
- At Speedway!
A lady is on fire!
- Somebody is on fire?
- We've already got a call.
The fire department's
on the way.
- Can you tell me
who did this? Like--
- There's a guy
just out there.
He's standing out there still.
He sat next to her.
He's in, like,
a blue or black truck.
He has tattoos all over him.
He's still here.
- What did he do?
What--like, gasoline?
What did he do?
- The girl was sitting
on the grass,
and he--he threw something.
And all of a sudden,
she's on fire.
- The police are there?
- I think the police are here.
- Okay.
- How are you doing?
- How are you?
- Lieutenant Cohagen,
with Gahanna,
here to see Adams
from the Slager case.
- Okay.
Come on in.
- Thanks.
I was at a barbecue
with my family
when we got the 911 call.
A lady had been set on fire
behind our Speedway station.
[disquieting music]
♪
There's businesses.
There's traffic.
There's a restaurant.
It's a very busy gas station.
It's a very busy--I mean,
it's an intersection
of two very busy roads.
- Okay, this is the Speedway
at Agler and...
- Our officers are thinking
there was a little fire
and someone got b*rned.
- Department's on the way.
- But when they get there,
they see clearly this instance
was a lot more than what
they thought it was gonna be.
♪
- In here, those three boxes.
- Okay.
- Uh...
- Michael's story,
at that point,
was that Judy had
filled the truck with gas
and accidentally
got some gas on her.
And when he went
to light a cigarette for her,
that's when she caught fire.
Clearly to our officers
and to everyone that was there,
that story did not make sense
because of the amount of damage
that was done to Judy.
This first piece
is Judy's jeans.
You can see how a lot
of the fire went down her back.
You know, went everywhere--
80% to 90% of her body--
but a lot of it
was dumped down her back,
went down her--
went down her shirt,
went down through
her buttocks area.
So you'll see
how hot the fire was.
It actually melted,
like, a backpack or a bag.
But this is Judy's bra.
You can see one half here,
and then another half here.
And then, it--it cut this off
and actually b*rned off,
or it melted.
The lighter here
and the fingerprint
taken from the lighter.
I had sent detectives
to Heartland Bank
to see if they had any footage
of the event.
Honestly, we didn't think
there would be,
but we knew we had to check.
Those detectives went
and got the footage.
They FaceTimed me.
And while we were
in the hospital,
we found some room--I think
there was, like, a closet--
and we all watched the video
together for the first time.
Everyone was silent.
I think we're all
kind of taking it in.
It looked--it looked
like a movie scene.
Even through FaceTime,
it clearly showed
that they had been--
they were arguing,
and then
Michael dumped gas over her.
So we knew right away
that Michael's story--
he had lied to us.
- Them two--it looked
like they were arguing.
She dropped her bags
on the ground.
And then,
he pulled up
and, like, walked up to her
with a lighter
or something
to light a cigarette.
And she, like--
I don't know what happened.
Like, something
was all over her.
She just ignited immediately.
He is bad.
- For me, that scene
has played out in dreams
more times than I can count.
- I had just talked to Judy,
maybe 20 minutes beforehand,
maybe half hour.
Not very long.
Not very long at all.
And...I got that phone call.
And I picked up the phone, and
someone on the other end said,
"Are you
Judy Malinowski's mom?"
And I remember thinking,
what a strange question.
And I said,
"Yeah, I'm Judy's mom."
And they said
this was the hospital,
and "we have your daughter,"
and that I should come now.
And...
And they said
she had been hurt
and that we need
to intubate her.
- My mom called me, frantic.
She said that there was a fire
at the gas station
and that's all she knew,
and that they were both b*rned.
- I remember
where I was on the highway,
and it dawned on me:
they said "intubate her."
And then, it hit me.
Oh, that's life support.
- I've seen plenty of burns
to her degree.
I can't say we've--
I've seen many of them
survive past a few days.
- And I got there.
I am walking
through this maze.
I went into--I was trying
to get to the trauma bay.
There was some nurse
who took me the wrong way.
I-I went past Michael's room.
I went in
before anybody could stop me
'cause I was looking
for my daughter.
I was looking for my baby,
and I went in there,
and I was like,
"Michael, where is Judy?
Where is Judy?"
And I'll never forget it.
He looked at me,
and he said,
"It was an accident.
It was an accident."
And before I could
get my composure
or continue
to ask him questions,
they shuffled me
out of his room
and said, "No, no, no,
you come with us.
Judy's not here."
And I didn't understand
why they--
why are the policemen
and why are these people--
you know, shuffled me
right out, away from him?
- The whole family
definitely has PTSD
from, like,
that incident especially,
so it's weird
how we all remember it
a little bit differently.
- All I can remember is
I just started screaming,
"Tell me there's hope.
Tell me there's hope.
Tell me there's hope."
I just--that's all I could say.
And they wouldn't tell me
there was hope.
They wouldn't say anything.
They just said
they're working on her.
- Nothing could
possibly prepare you
for the condition that--
that she was in.
[machines whirring]
- All I had seen was my child.
All I had seen was my baby.
I did not see
what I see in pictures today.
But I looked back
over my shoulder,
and there was
my other daughter.
She was in the middle of the
hallway, sitting on a chair,
and I remember nurses were
running to attend to her.
And I-I remember looking.
She was throwing up
in the hallway, everywhere.
And it was kind of
just slow-motion.
She just didn't see
what I'd seen.
- I thought, like,
I could handle it,
but I ended up, like,
starting to pass out.
- In the burn world,
we have an equation
for mortality,
which is based on the patient's
age and percent burn.
And in Judy's case,
she was 31 at the time
of the burn, I believe,
and approximately
80-plus percent b*rned,
so that made her,
like, 110% mortality.
- We were concerned
with Judy passing
and us not getting anything
on the record.
Whether or not the courts
could get it in,
that wasn't my concern.
I wanted something--
I wanted Judy's voice to be
heard as quickly as possible.
Doctors and nurses
are looking at you like,
"Do you wanna bring this person
out of sedation?"
- Judy.
- And we knew that we had to.
- She's lifting her arm.
- Judy, can you hear me?
Yeah, honey. My name is Ken--
- Mommy is here!
Hold one. One sec.
- Okay.
- My name is Kendra.
I'll be your nurse today, okay?
We're taking good care of you.
You're in the hospital, okay?
You have some burns,
so we're just gonna try
to keep you comfortable here,
okay?
Are you hurting right now?
Okay.
All righty.
Would you mind if someone
asked you a couple questions
about what happened?
- Stay calm, Jude.
Just stay calm, baby.
- I hadn't ever seen trauma
like that
to a human body
that wasn't deceased.
[machines beeping, whirring]
I remember leaning in
to talk to her,
and she doesn't have any ears
to talk to,
so, you know, I don't even
know if she can hear me.
Judy, this is Detective Cohagen
with Gahanna.
Can you hear me?
- [weakly] Yes.
- You can?
Judy, did you spill gas
on yourself?
No?
- Mm-mm.
- Did Mike spill gas on you?
Did Mike throw gas on you?
Yes.
Yes? Okay.
Thank you.
She was clearly processing.
She was clearly--
she understood--
you know, she responded
to Bonnie's voice,
she responded to my voice
and my two questions.
- Judy, you're gonna
get better, baby.
- She was able to give me
the information that we needed
to pursue the investigation
at that point.
- This is Mommy.
You fight for Maddie, okay?
- And the police said that they
were going to arrest Michael,
and I-I didn't understand why.
No, that can't be.
There must be a mistake,
and maybe-maybe
she was confused.
[tense music]
♪
- Hi.
- Mike.
- Yep.
- [clears throat]
- All right.
- We need to talk to you
about what happened, okay?
- So what, there--am I
under arrest or something?
- Right now, yeah,
you are under arrest.
- And what am I
being charged with?
- You're gonna be charged
with felonious as*ault
and aggravated arson.
Okay. Let me just be direct
with you too, Mike, okay?
Where you--where the--
what it happened at,
there's an ATM
right there, okay?
That ATM records all the time.
When the detectives
go pull the footage,
and they reviewed the footage--
we've all seen the footage--
we know exactly
what happened, okay?
So we saw
exactly what happened.
We saw you pour gasoline
over top of her head.
She stumbles to the ground.
You lean over
and light her on fire.
We saw what happened.
We know what happened.
- That's not the way it looks,
so I'm just ready
to talk to my attorney now.
- If it's not the way it looks,
I'd love to hear
what--what more there is to it.
- Well...
[sighs frustratedly]
- 'Cause right now, Mike,
it looks like
you poured gasoline on her
and you set her on fire.
There's more to the story.
I need to know that.
I care.
We care about the truth,
the entire truth
of the whole situation.
- We were arguing.
She-she threw pop on my face.
And then, we was going
back and forth with it.
Then, she come in
and spit in my face.
And I said,
"Oh, we're here.
You know, you wanna
ruin my stuff up,"
'cause this is how I told her.
I said, "Here. Boom,
I'm gonna ruin your clothes."
It wasn't to-to start her
on fire or nothing.
You know what I mean?
- Okay.
- It was just
to ruin her clothes.
- Right. Yeah.
- Okay?
- So, "You ruin my stuff,
I'm gonna ruin your stuff."
- So she--she didn't stumble.
She just sat down.
She was sitting down.
And then, she said, "Well..."
You know, I was getting
ready to leave, you know?
And she's like, "Well..."
'Cause I was just gonna say,
f*ck it, you know, leave.
- Yeah, take off.
- And she was like,
"Well, don't leave.
Don't leave," you know?
You know, "Can you bring me
a cigarette and stuff?"
And she was getting ready
to change clothes,
'cause she's got extra clothes.
- Mm-hmm.
- And she was like--
you know, I didn't think--
I got--you know,
there--there was that--
you know, really
it was gonna be that.
- Sure.
- So she was--
I walked over
to give her a light.
That was it.
- And then, she just--
- And she--when she went up,
I couldn't believe it.
I just didn't think that
it was gonna be like that.
- Right.
You know, in our head,
it never made sense
that he went from so angry
that he's pouring gasoline
on somebody,
to 33 seconds later,
he's nice enough
and has peace of mind enough
to go back
and light a cigarette for them.
It didn't--it didn't
make any sense.
- It was an accident.
I didn't--
- He's not going in for it.
- Right.
-You know, when you're
gonna see that thing,
it just makes it
look all different.
You know what I mean?
- Oh, mm-hmm.
- I'm coming in.
- It does.
It makes it look
completely different.
- I just wanna turn--
- Hi.
- How are you doing?
- You know, I'd heard
about the case briefly.
I was kinda surprised.
His picture, when I saw,
it kind of looked like
he was kind of a big thug
and one of these
dangerous physical types,
but he really wasn't.
He was--he was
very-very soft-spoken,
more intelligent
than I would've guessed,
a little more subdued.
And he's a smart guy.
He's not an idiot.
I--he really is a smart guy,
[eerie music]
But he had made
several statements
about how the gasoline
got on Judy,
and that, to me, was probably
the biggest detriment,
the biggest problem
that we were facing.
So, I mean, I knew the lie,
don't get me wrong,
but that--the lie was
about how the gas got on her,
and then he developed
from there.
"Okay, I did.
I panicked.
"I lied about that,
and I shouldn't have,
"but she took
her sweatshirt off
"and it didn't even occur
to me
"that there would
still be gas there.
"So when she calmed down
and sat down
"and asked me to help her
with a light,
I had no reason to think
that she would be in flames."
♪
In this case, where I thought
that there was some doubt,
was to whether he knowingly
caused serious physical harm.
- I still have trouble
understanding
that someone could do that
to another human being.
I ask myself,
over and over,
"Are you sure she didn't
just get a cigarette out
and light it?"
I called Detective Cohagen
more than one time
to come back
to the hospital
and tell me again
what he said.
"Tell me again.
Tell me again. Tell me again."
I have a 9:00 meeting
with Detective Cohagen.
- [inaudible]
- My name is Bonnie Bowes.
- [inaudible]
- Okay.
Thank you.
- So Judy's right here.
- Mm-hmm, I see her.
- Uh-huh.
As you can see here,
she ran across to here
and walked across to here.
And now--
- She's angry.
You can see her hands.
- You can tell.
She's very demonstrative.
- Yeah.
- She's very--right.
- I just know my child.
She's angry.
They see her.
She's--she's
throwing her arms,
so she's mad
about something there.
- Yeah.
At one point,
she does pick up the drink,
and she does throw the drink.
- She keeps backing up
further from him.
- And she clearly wants nothing
to do with him here,
and she starts walking away.
I'm gonna fast-forward this
a little bit.
She'll come on into frame here.
You can clearly see him
dumping a red can
over top of her
and liquid spilling down.
- Oh, my gosh.
[gasps]
- So, she comes.
And she'll go
to the ground here.
- Yeah.
[gasps]
- She's in frame here
for a little bit,
but then you see her get up,
stagger off,
and she's never back in frame.
- He bent down and literally
just lit her on fire?
- He did.
Yeah, absolutely.
- He dumped that on her
and then immediately
lit her on fire?
- No, he walks off,
goes back to the truck
like he's gonna drive away.
- Yeah.
- He starts
to get in the truck,
and then decides, you know,
for whatever reason,
"No, I'm not getting
in the truck."
And according to the witnesses,
he stomps over to her
like he's going to punch her,
but then that's when he reaches
down and sets her on fire.
- [gasps]
So he thought about it.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
- And then, he went
and got a fire extinguisher?
- He sat there
and watched her in flames,
and then a witness ran over.
And according to the witness,
he felt like
his presence there
is what prompted Michael
to run around
and get a fire extinguisher.
- Yeah. And just people came.
- Right.
[sirens wailing]
- We talk in our system
about how defendants
deserve zealous advocacy.
I believe victims deserve
themselves advocates as well.
I could probably prosecute
for another 20 years
and not get a case that is so
right for the death penalty.
And really, for the first
several months of this case,
we were--we were playing
the delay game.
It sounds terrible,
but we were basically
waiting for Judy to die
so that we could charge
Mr. Slager with the homicide.
[machines whirring]
And we got a call one day
that she was awake,
which is a call
I never expected to get.
[ambient music]
♪
First homicide case
that I've handled
where I got to meet the victim.
[machines whirring]
- So many surgeries
and failed grafts.
- Dress from the front.
- Ow!
- And dressings were...
beyond excruciating.
- And I didn't--at that point,
I don't think
she really understood
that there was a case.
It had to be explained to her
that Mr. Slager was in jail.
I remember her being emotional
about that.
She--she actually felt bad
for Mike at that point.
But at the same time,
there was a level of fear,
so I reassured her
that I would do everything
in my power
to keep him locked up.
That is probably
how I ended up being the one
that had a bond with her.
Do you know
how many surgeries you've had?
- And you're aware that
you have coded seven times.
- Can you tell me about
the pain that you live with?
[gentle piano music]
♪
- 'Cause, like,
you know, like,
if you get burnt
by a cigarette or something,
and I thought it was
just gonna be like that
on certain parts of her body.
- And when I walked in,
I definitely was like,
that's not my mom.
You just don't believe
that that's
who they're telling you it is.
- I need you to stop
and come here.
- Okay, I'm coming.
- All right.
You're being a brat.
One of my problem--
one of your problems is
that you don't want
to deal with it,
'cause I can't--you--you--
I can't manage you
if you don't deal with it.
And don't--I don't want you
to start crying.
I don't want you to be upset.
I just want--
- I'm not.
- I just want you to know,
I get that you're angry.
I get that you're mad.
Nothing will ever be okay
for what he did,
but if you ever wanna be happy,
you have to promise me you'll
try to engage in therapy.
- Okay.
- Is that fair?
- Yes.
- Judy's medical bills
were well into the millions.
I've already--I'm gonna file
for victim's assistance.
They sent me
a standard form letter,
and it said they were sorry
to inform me that if you have
any kind of illegal substance
in your system in Ohio,
then you don't qualify
as a victim.
[machines whirring]
They said the law is the law
and they absolutely
would not give me a penny.
[machines whirring]
She was not perfect,
but she was human.
And she was on her way
to rehab when this happened.
- Did you have a diagnosis and
a--and a surgical procedure
when you were 27 years old?
- Okay.
And you had some complications
as a result of that surgery,
correct?
- Tell me what happened
as a result
of those complications
from the surgery.
- She had told me,
"Mom, I'm getting addicted
to this pain medicine."
And I said to her...
"Judy, it's fine."
I'll never forget it.
I said, "Just take them
as the doctor prescribes them.
"So it says four a day,
take four a day.
It's fine."
- I didn't know what it was.
So, like, I didn't know
it was heroin
or I didn't--I had no idea
what exactly she was doing,
but the sister that I knew
was deteriorating.
- I realized that
she was a binge user
and she would go and use
and self-medicate
whenever she needed.
- We knew my sister,
when she was in her addiction,
couldn't care for the girls
the same way.
And so,
I had helped with Maddie,
and then my mom had Kaylyn
full-time.
[solemn music]
♪
[ascending tone]
[descending tone]
- And we went to a place
called Parkside,
and it was a private place.
And it was a lot of money,
but she got sober.
And she was going to meetings,
like three, four,
five meetings a week.
They got her
on the right track,
and now she's living
with the girls.
- I think for the first time,
throughout her whole addiction,
I felt like
I had my sister back.
- [humming]
- Well, one thing that
I feel like I should have known
before...
- Bring it on. What?
- Was about
the whole drug thing.
- Okay, let's talk about that.
You want to?
- Yeah, because I feel like
there's a lot of secrets
that I didn't know.
- Well, nothing was
a secret, Maddie.
You had the right to know
when you were old enough
to understand.
Kaylee, she still doesn't have
the coping skills.
- I mean, I understand
she made a slight mistake.
- Okay, so--but she--she--
- I know
she didn't wanna do them.
Like, she just got
addicted somehow.
- Age-appropriate. You know
I'm always talking about,
to you and to Kaylee,
age-appropriate,
age-appropriate.
- When you were
age-appropriate.
You could have been
mature enough at 12,
or you could have been
matured enough at 16.
Can't imagine being
as young as your mom--
was in her 20s--
having two kids,
and, you know--
you know, her--
your dad left her
and--and cheated on her.
She was very, very sick
with ovarian cancer.
And then, you're too young
to understand
what it's like to have
a big, big surgery
and it throws your whole body
out of whack.
She was in a lot of pain.
They're giving her lots
and lots
and lots of pain medicine.
I did not know how strong
the-the opiate addiction
was gonna be.
And you don't even know
what an opiate is, do you?
- Mm-mm.
- Yeah, so that's pain pills.
That's how she became addicted
to pain medicine.
When you can't get it
from a doctor,
you just go,
and there's a street value
and you buy it on the street.
And I'm sorry,
but you should have heard it
when you were age-appropriate.
- I'm fine;
I just wanna forget that
until I am age-appropriate
to...
- That's smart.
- Know that.
- Like, the fact
that we didn't know
that she was on her way
to Parkside
that morning
before seeing us.
- Isn't that a rehab center?
- It's rehab
for dr*gs, alcohol,
and it is also
for mental health.
- But you never told us
that she was being taken
to Parkside.
- Maybe she didn't want you
to know.
- Afterwards,
you should have told us.
- Okay, afterwards they said
she was going
to live seven hours.
- You could have mentioned
a little bit of it
because I thought that
she was at her apartment
coming over to talk to us,
but that's not
what was happening.
- One reason I didn't tell you
is exactly the way
you're acting now,
'cause you still don't get
what your mom went through
or how she even became addicted
to the opiates.
And it was so long ago
that when
she got addicted to it more,
it was so full of people OD'ing
that they had to set up tents
because so many people
were dying of overdoses,
mothers just like yours.
Is that not true?
- Yeah.
- And I know you're angry
and you don't know
how to process all this,
and I'm trying
to have compassion,
but this isn't about your mom,
so let's keep her off trial.
- Before she connected
with Michael,
she was doing the best
she had ever done.
[hopeful music]
♪
Um, everything went downhill
when Michael came
into the picture.
- So he began to,
I would say, dote her.
like, just messaging her
and just everything, I guess,
a girl wants to read,
especially, you know,
where Judy was in her life,
you know,
once they met.
I was like, "He looks
like bad news, Judy."
Judy said,
"You know, Mom,
you can't judge a book
by their cover,"
and so on and so forth.
and you know?
[sighs]
I said, "Well, I don't
want the girls around him,
"anywhere near him.
"If you're gonna date him,
I don't want the girls
anywhere near him."
He came over to my home.
And he pulled in my driveway,
and he wanted to speak to me.
He said,
"Just because I have tattoos
"or I look the way I look,
"that doesn't mean
I'm a bad person.
"If you're a Christian
and you have love,
why are you judging me
by my tattoos?"
And I thought,
wow, he's probably right.
You know, Jesus wouldn't
want me to do that.
So I kind of fell in
from that moment on,
like, okay,
back off, Bonnie.
He knew just where to take me
to earn his trust,
and he knew
just where to take to Judy
so that she would continue to
depend on him and to need him.
That's when dr*gs and all that
came into play.
- This was a toxic relationship
that was centered
around drug use
and basically Michael
getting her addicted.
- I don't think that
Michael ever did dr*gs,
and I think that's
an interesting portion
of everything,
because he definitely preyed
on women
that had addiction problems.
[ascending tone]
[descending tone]
[ascending tone]
[descending tone]
[ascending tone]
[descending tone]
- I didn't notice
that she relapsed
until probably
halfway through,
and he starts to play me
against Judy.
He honestly started to play me.
[imitates gasp]
"She's on dr*gs.
"I don't think
I can wake her up.
"I don't think
I can wake her up!
You better call 911."
As time went on, there was
more and more of this.
She--you know,
he would call me and say,
"She didn't come home.
How dare her!"
So, I started thinking,
bad Judy.
"Okay, Michael,
I'll give you $60,"
pay the water bill,
having no idea
that I was in this web.
I was giving him money
to go buy her dr*gs.
How stupid of me was that?
[tense music]
♪
The first mark I'd seen on her
was her face.
He bought her dr*gs,
she relapsed,
so he had complete control
over her.
That was his way
of controlling her,
so that he could abuse her
and that
he felt power over her.
If he was bringing the dr*gs,
he had the power over her.
- Judy had called me
when he had choked her before.
He definitely
had choked her before.
And I can remember her
being so scared of him.
- The police were called
multiple times.
They never did make him leave.
She hid in hotels,
left her own home.
[descending tone]
[ascending tone]
[descending tone]
- So it was
a volatile relationship.
I don't know to what extent,
or if at all,
it actually ever got physical.
They argued a lot,
but I think
Michael's position is
there was no domestic v*olence
between the two of them.
[descending tone]
[ascending tone]
- ...22, 23, 24, 25, 26,
27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32.
So 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38.
So, it looks like
the first instance
we dealt with Michael and Judy
was in May of 2015.
Michael and Judy got into
a fight and Judy took his car.
Michael did not wanna
pursue charges at that point.
The very next day,
Michael called us
to report Judy missing,
said he hadn't heard from her
in a couple days.
- So it appears to be
a run log of 13 or so calls
between Michael and Judy.
A lot of the calls,
Mike is the caller.
I can tell you,
from my experience,
this is just another
overt measure of control.
He's using law enforcement,
and moreover,
the thr*at of law enforcement,
to-to maintain his power.
He knows what he's doing.
He's intelligent,
he's calculating,
and he knows that
he is painting this picture
that he is just
the concerned boyfriend.
[radio chatter]
Near the end of May of 2015,
I had a lengthy conversation
with Judy.
She had been stopped
driving one
of Michael Slager's vehicles.
She was convinced that, even
while we were on the phone,
Mike had sent someone
to find her
and that he was watching her.
"Tell me about him, Judy.
What do you see?
What cars do you see?"
"No, I gotta go.
"I've gotta go.
He's here.
He sent somebody for me."
She flat out said
that if she left him
or he found out
about this conversation,
that he would k*ll her.
And then, the call disconnected
after that.
Called her back,
I can't count how many times,
trying to get a hold of her.
I tried to pass along
as much help to Bonnie,
based on my experience, that
this is what she should do.
You know, sometimes a person
just isn't ready.
- Bonnie, you know,
probably more times
than I even know about,
tried to get her out
of that relationship.
[tense music]
[descending tone]
♪
[descending tone]
[ascending tone]
For whatever reason,
Judy just wasn't leaving.
You know, call it lo--love,
I-I don't--I--you know,
I wasn't--I'm not--
I wasn't in Judy's head.
- Are you really asking me,
"Is there anything
the police department
could have done better?"
She told the detectives,
over and over,
"He's going to k*ll me."
Nobody would even
so much as pull him over,
talk to him.
They don't wanna listen.
"Oh, she's got
a prior drug possession."
"Oh, she--you know what,
she's on dr*gs."
She goes,
"I didn't do that."
When police
wouldn't listen to her
and detectives
wouldn't listen to her,
Judy knew the only way
to save her life from Michael--
not the dr*gs--
was to find a rehab.
That was the only safe place
from abuse.
Sad, but true.
Parkside called,
said they had a bed.
Michael picked her up
and said, "I'll take you."
I remember thinking, he was
never gonna take her there.
I remember thinking it was
another one of his lies.
[eerie music]
♪
And you know what?
The freak that I am,
I still can't go
to a gas station.
- I was interested
in getting to the bottom
of, for one,
who Slager was as a person,
to try to understand
how or why he could have done
what he did to my sister.
So, the first thing I did
was look at public record
to look at, like, what he had
been charged with in the past.
- This is Michael's career
criminal history.
It's fairly in-depth
and lengthy.
He has theft,
domestic v*olence, menacing,
carrying a concealed w*apon,
aggravated menacing,
making a false police report,
domestic v*olence,
aggravated menacing, as*ault,
aggravated menacing,
inducing panic,
domestic v*olence,
as*ault, domestic v*olence,
as*ault, domestic v*olence,
r*pe--which was, I think,
pled down to a sexual battery--
domestic v*olence,
resisting arrest.
He had a sexual--he was
a registered sex offender
at one point.
Petty theft,
endangering children,
domestic v*olence,
endangering children,
sexual battery, theft,
menacing, disorderly conduct,
aggravated menacing, stalking,
domestic v*olence, as*ault,
domestic v*olence,
resisting arrest, sex
offender--failure to notify--
aggravated burglary,
breaking and entering,
breaking and entering,
theft, theft,
receiving stolen property,
corrupt criminal activity,
theft, passing bad checks,
obstructing official business,
obstructing official business,
and then we get
to the aggravated arson
and felonious as*ault.
- A lot of jurors,
I think, would say,
"Well, he did it before.
He'll do it again,"
and we file a motion to keep
that kind of information out.
You know,
those admissibility rules
are-are designed
to protect the defendant.
If Michael had convictions
for as*ault
or-or domestic v*olence,
the jury
would never have known.
- We are frustrated
with domestic v*olence
almost on a daily basis.
We do the best job we can.
We give that--at our level,
we give them all the facts.
And then, what the courts do
with it, the courts do with it.
[tense music]
♪
You can go home
and punch your wife
in the face
as hard as you can,
and as long
as she didn't need surgery
or any type
of permanent disfigurement,
that's a misdemeanor.
And in those cases, sentencing
is usually extremely light.
[cheers]
[overlapping chatter]
- We had a phone call
with Warren Edwards,
and he explained to us
that if Judy lived,
that might Michael could get
11 years plus 2,
and that was the maximum
that he could get
under the state of Ohio,
that he could cause that amount
of suffering to somebody
and be able to walk out
and see daylight again.
It was crazy to me.
- Michael Slager appeared in
a Franklin County court today
on charges of aggravated arson
and felonious as*ault.
- This is 5CR3933
and 08CR3828,
state of Ohio
versus Michael Slager.
- If the grand jury had
indicted on attempted m*rder,
then the state would have
the burden
of proving that
that was his intent,
that was what he wanted to do,
was to make sure she was dead,
and that's just harder
to prove.
- To the indictment
of aggravated arson, F1,
during this incident--
or I'm sorry...
- He was taking her to rehab.
He was taking her
to get inpatient help
for her drug addiction.
He meant
to ignite her cigarette.
Whether he knowingly caused her
serious physical harm,
like, that--you know, that
would be kind of the angle.
And also, you know,
remember, he went
and immediately got a fire
extinguisher and put her out.
So if he's trying to hurt her,
why is he putting her out?
- This claim of Mr. Slager
that this was somehow
an accidental ignition,
that she produced
a-a-a cigarette
and, in that 32 seconds
while he's off-frame,
that they somehow made up
and she asked for a light
to the cigarette...
[unsettling music]
I said, she can refute it.
I said she can refute
his--his def--
he is locked into this defense,
and she is--she can refute it,
and I can't think of
any other definitive evidence
that would do that.
The question then became,
was she gonna be available
as a witness in our case?
- We're preparing
for jury trial.
We don't think
she's gonna testify.
She was not in a condition that
would allow her to testify,
and suddenly,
her-her condition improved.
- You know, she wanted
to tell her story.
She--I think she--she fi--
wanted somebody
to finally listen to her.
- And we were actually prepared
for trial that morning.
And at that time, Judy was
gonna testify via video, live.
- It's one thing,
seeing something on TV.
And I know that
this was gonna be video,
but the knowledge that that
was happening in real time,
that there was this woman
just a few miles away
on the other end
of this video feed
that was going through
what you're watching,
that the jury is gonna want
somebody to answer for that--
I had to go back to Michael
and say,
"Michael, look,
she's gonna testify,
"and this jury
is gonna hate you.
They're absolutely
gonna hate you."
- It really was a bluff.
We didn't know if she was
gonna be able to testify
and we didn't know
if it was gonna k*ll her.
And when I looked at Bob
and said, "You know,
if he pled today,
I wouldn't have a testimony."
And he said--he said, "Let me
see if he'll buy that."
- Michael understood
that if she testified
and she was cross-examined--
if she later d*ed,
her testimony under oath
would be admissible
in his m*rder trial.
so he decided to enter a plea
of no contest,
We will stipulate that there
is sufficient, factual basis
for this plea at this time.
And he doesn't have
to say the word "guilty."
I mean--and that was
somewhat important to him,
but more important was, you
know, keeping Judy's testimony
out of a potential and very
probable future m*rder trial.
- In your previously-entered
not guilty plea,
you're pleading a no contest
plea in this matter?
- Correct, Your Honor.
- Slager changed his plea
from not guilty to no contest.
And that way,
he avoided a trial
and she was not able
to testify.
- He silenced her again.
And there was nothing
we could do.
What are you gonna do?
Judy felt like,
"He's doing it again.
"Look, he is manipulating me
and the system again.
"He's controlling and pulling
everybody's strings, Mom.
Everybody, right down
to the prosecutors."
- The Gahanna woman
doused with gasoline
and set on fire
will never get the chance
to testify against her ex
in court.
- But the truth
of the matter is,
telling the story at that time
was not optimal for the case,
that having that testimony
for months or years
before she passed would have
given them--the defense--
an opportunity
to prepare a defense
around Judy's testimony.
- And the judge sentenced him
to 11 years in jail.
- Judy has a life sentence,
and her children have
a life sentence.
And with domestic v*olence,
it's ugly, it's cruel.
Everybody has a life sentence
in this.
- Mrs. Bowes was correct
when she said
this girl has a life sentence.
The pain inflicted by burns--
there is no pain--
there's no pain like that.
And you've done it,
and you haven't been sorry.
You've done all the things
that clearly show
what a despicable individual
you are.
And I see your record,
so I know you have
a history of domestic v*olence.
You have a history of menacing.
- Judge Julie was
so distraught.
And she looked over
at the prosecution
and said,
"I blame legislators.
"I blame legislators
that I cannot sentence him
or do more with this."
- You really do seem like
one of those people
that have no soul,
and you need
to be incarcerated.
And that's all I have to say.
Take him out.
[eerie music]
♪
- [sobbing]
- Honey, sometimes
there are no answers--
- Both your girls need you,
and I need you,
but sometimes
there are no answers, Judy.
- How are you doing, my love?
- Loving it.
Work it!
- Go, Judy!
[laughter]
- No, Judy.
Don't be doing that.
No, no, no.
both: "Everybody!"
- She was not happy,
and we were--we were informed
she was not happy.
You know,
Judy had a temper.
She wasn't afraid
to tell me how she felt,
and she was angry that day.
I wasn't done,
and I made that clear in court
that we'd be coming back
for more.
There was
a strategic decision.
As far as I was concerned,
the case was unfolding
to plan.
[tense music]
♪
- [hums]
- No, Judy. No, no.
- [continues humming]
Come on.
- And you, dance!
- But there was
this part of her
that wanted to-to make it
and to live,
to fight for every other woman
that had been
through something like that.
She definitely wanted the law
to change,
and she was willing to do
whatever she needed to do
to help change the law.
- Judy's Law would increase
the maximum sentence
for felonious as*ault
by 5 to 20 years
for people who intentionally
maim or disfigure someone.
- The law would not
be retroactive,
meaning it won't have
any impact on her case.
Still, Judy continues to fight
for other survivors
of domestic v*olence.
- You're the sister
that I never had.
- Doctors say they really have
no medical explanation
as to how she is still alive,
but Judy's mom, Bonnie Bowes,
says she believes
that Judy is fighting
to see Judy's Law through
to the very end.
- This is a miracle,
that she survived that
with her spirit intact,
her will to wanna help
other people intact.
Women are strong.
[chuckles]
Women are strong.
- While we stand here today,
my mom lays in a hospital bed,
where she has been
for 609 days.
She has been in a lot of pain,
and every day is another fight
to stay alive.
Mike committed a horrible crime
and only received
an 11-year sentence.
Please pass my mom's law,
because together,
we can prevent this from
happening to other people.
- With the slamming
of the gavel,
Judy's Law moves on
to the Senate
after a unanimous vote
in the House.
- Thank you, Senator Hughes.
Do you wanna say anything?
- Uh...uh...that's...
That's nice.
- A person only has
so much resilience.
I just think her body was
giving out before her spirit.
[solemn music]
- Cases are
about will sometimes.
You've got to have
the willpower to keep moving
to not be satisfied
with something
that doesn't feel like justice.
She wanted to be heard,
her mother wanted to be heard,
and I wasn't satisfied
with 11 years.
♪
- The prosecution explained
to Judy and I
that there would be nothing
but Michael's story
for a homicide trial.
And that's when
they approached Judy
about testifying
to her own homicide.
It was a long sh*t,
'cause it had never been done.
Nobody had ever testified
to their own homicide
in the United States.
- In Ohio,
there isn't a criminal rule
with regard
to preserving the testimony
of someone that
we all knew was gonna pass
for future
criminal prosecution.
There is, however,
a civil rule, Rule 27,
used in preserving testimony
of people injured
in insurance claims
who later d*ed,
things like asbestos claims
or fire-related claims.
- We were denied her testimony
at the trial
when, at the last minute,
there was no contest plea,
and we didn't have
her testimony.
It was, at least I felt,
a stroke of genius
to come up with the idea
taking her deposition,
where she could testify
from the grave,
at a subsequent
homicide trial.
- For Ron to get up and stake
his professional reputation,
his career,
saying that
we should be allowed
to set this precedent,
was huge.
The man is such a legend
in-in Franklin County
that when he gets up
and speaks, everybody listens.
- A woman who was set on fire,
has been in the hospital now
for nearly 18 months,
will be able
to tell her story in court.
- She said,
"Mom, I know
I haven't endured
this much pain in vain."
- Today,
a Franklin County judge ruled
that Malinowski could
give a deposition via video.
- The biggest concern for us,
as lawyers, was,
is she so under the influence
of these pain medications
that she doesn't understand
what's going on in court?
And again, this is
a competency issue.
Is she competent to testify?
- She had to come down off
of the amount of pain meds
that she was on
to be lucid enough
to where she could speak
under oath.
- I know.
- [sobbing]
- She was in horrible pain
with the best
of the pain medicine.
- You're gonna get
five milligrams of gelatin.
- I know.
- It was hard to wean
off her medication.
Most burn victims require
a really large amount
of medication.
She-she had a high tolerance
for it,
as common also
with narcotic addicts,
so it was--it was part
of her challenge too.
- [groaning]
- As a mother,
you know your child.
Where was her limitation?
Could she do this, even though
her intentions were good
to-to do this,
so that he would never
hurt another person?
- I think it was extremely
courageous of her,
but I also--it doesn't
surprise me at all.
Um, I think that was always
the person that Judy was.
- It was the night before her
deposition was to be taken.
I'd stopped down
to Ron's office,
and he was nervous.
He was thinking about
pulling the plug on it.
And I think
he was concerned that
if it wasn't gonna go well,
we didn't wanna embarrass her
or anybody else.
And so, it made me mad.
I got in the car,
went back to the hospital,
and videotaped her.
Tell me your name and that
you're ready to testify.
- Tomorrow.
All right.
And I showed it to Ron,
and I said, "She's ready.
"You know,
I know what I'm doing.
We got this."
- There.
There you go.
- Originally, they said,
"Well, we want Michael present
in the hospital room."
Actually, I took that
as an intimidation tactic.
- Michael wanted to be there.
Michael said, "Look,
I've got a right to be there."
Right of confrontation.
He wanted to see her testify.
And more importantly, he wanted
her to see that he was there.
And he--his--his belief was,
"She won't lie if I'm there."
And in fact, at that point,
while we were arguing,
that Michael wanted
to cross-examine her himself.
- The judge thankfully
overruled his motion,
and no one was allowed
to the hospital room
during the deposition.
- All right.
Let's go on the record.
- They sealed that door,
and, oh, my gosh, it was like
leaving my child to drown
in the middle of a--an ocean.
- This is
Magistrate Elizabeth Waters.
I'm going to swear you in.
Could you please
raise your right hand
to the extent
that you possibly can?
Do you solemnly swear
or affirm
the testimony you're about
to give in this deposition
will be the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
as you shall answer to God
or under penalty of perjury?
- Thank you.
- Thank you,
Your Honor.
Warren Edwards, Ron O'Brien,
Casey Chapter,
and Michael M. Bonnett
for the state of Ohio.
- And counsel
for the respondent.
- Bob Krapence
on behalf of Michael Slager.
- Okay, you need to push the
button when you're talking.
- Please note our ongoing
objection to this procedure,
including any objection
to any irregularities,
starting with swearing
the witness, saying,
"All the way through the
conclusion of her testimony."
Thank you.
I don't think it was necessary.
I thought the evidence
that the state had was enough,
without putting her
through that.
- Sunday, August 2nd, 2015.
Do you recall that day?
- Okay.
And on that day,
were you with Mr. Slager?
- When you were
with Mr. Slager,
you indicated that the two
of you stopped at Speedway.
What-what did you
stop there for?
- Your--your--
you smoke cigarettes, correct?
- You used to do it?
- What happened as you stood
behind that Speedway?
- You threw a pop on him?
- Did you splash it on him or
actually throw the pop at him?
- Okay.
What was his reaction to this?
- And what did he do?
- The gasoline in your throat
b*rned really bad?
- And what's his demeanor
as he's pouring the gasoline
on you?
And...
- After he poured the gasoline
on you,
what happens next?
- Did you make up with him in
any way during these 30 seconds
between him
pouring gasoline on you
and pulling out the lighter
and setting you on fire?
- Did you have a cigarette?
- Did you ask for a light?
- Was his approaching you
with that lighter accidental,
that he tripped
or anything like that?
- Okay.
- Okay--
- Okay.
[unsettling music]
♪
- Mike saw pictures
in the media of her
many years ago--
beautiful girl--
and then pictures of her
as she was after the incident
and those two juxtaposed.
And he said,
"Look, they don't know
"about the intervening thing.
"Do they understand
that she was doing dr*gs?
"Do they understand
she was addicted?
Does the media understand
I was trying to help her?"
I wanna tell the jury
in closing argument,
she lied or she was mistaken.
Now, I don't like
to call somebody a liar,
but whether you're lying
or mistaken,
you know what they have
in common?
You can't rely on it.
It's unreliable.
Unfortunate, but it's true.
We can't rely on it.
That type of thing.
Miss Malinowski,
can you see me?
- Okay.
My name is Bob Krapence.
I don't--I believe we've never
met or talked before, correct?
- I've organized
some questions,
and I hope to keep it
to the point, pretty quick,
but if I skip around
a little bit, I apologize.
I don't mean to.
If you have any questions
or you're not sure
what I'm asking you, okay,
please ask me to repeat it
or rephrase it.
Fair enough?
- Okay.
- Okay.
Did you start stealing money
from Mike?
- Mike gave you money?
- My question is, you stole
money from Mike, correct? Okay?
- Did you steal property
or money from your mother?
- When Michael called
the police in May--
I think May 29th, 2015--
because of your behavior...
- Okay.
- Can you--can you tell us
what you were wearing
that morning of August 2nd?
- All right.
Do you remember
getting dressed that morning?
Don't remember what--
where you went to do dr*gs,
but you knew it was a bathroom
of some kind, correct?
- Okay. It would be fair to say
that the trauma you've suffered
has affected your memory?
- Okay, that it has affected
your ability
to recall events accurately?
- Would you agree that,
because of the trauma
that you have suffered,
your ability
to recall events accurately
has been compromised?
- Okay--
- I understand. What--what
I'm trying to get to is--
- Okay--
I appreciate that.
Ma'am, I...
I just remember walking out,
thinking, that was awful.
That was horrible.
I didn't wanna do it.
Glad it was all over.
I felt bad for her
from day one.
I mean, I absolutely
felt bad for her.
I don't know who didn't
feel bad for her.
- I'll-I'll talk to you later
about it, okay?
- Yeah.
- Three hours of questioning.
I couldn't interrupt.
I couldn't knock on the door
and see if anybody was--
if--if she was okay.
And when I went in there,
I walked around
the side of that bed, and I--
she just grabbed me
as best she could
with her physical limitations,
and her entire b*rned body
just shook.
And I remember, she just
cried and cried and cried,
and shook and cried.
I think Judy went back
down the path of,
"Did I deserve this?
Am I really a bad person?"
[machines whirring]
Medically, it set her back.
Absolutely.
I think Judy expressed
being tired of fighting
and in pain.
But she would not say to me,
"Mom, I wanna give up.
I wanna stop,"
because she knew that--
she knew
what that would do to me.
- At times,
I thought my mom was selfish
because I thought that
she just didn't want my sister
to pass away.
And to me, I felt that
enough was enough.
And I-I can remember
asking my mom and dad
why they don't put people
to sleep
like they put dogs to sleep
and why they couldn't just
up my sister's pain medicine
when we knew that
she was gonna pass away.
And they told me that she--
she can't basically die
from medicine
because that could impact
his m*rder trial.
[solemn music]
- After nearly 60 surgeries
and two years in the hospital,
Judy has been moved
to a care facility
and is no longer
getting medical treatment.
♪
- So they asked me
to sign these papers,
and I said, "No, I will not
sign these hospice papers."
So Judy, with one--
her arm was amputated
'cause it was burnt
at the bottom--
she said, "Mom, I will,"
and she put an X.
And I know Judy, because
Judy would have normally tried
to do her name,
and she just put an X
and handed it back.
- Judy Malinowski's family
now says
they're coming
to a fork in the road.
- Kind of slipped down
a spiral hill.
We're either gonna have
to make a choice
to let God and nature
take its choice,
or hopefully
she'll pull out of it
and we'll be able
to move forward.
I said,
"Okay, Judy.
I'll hold your hand and hope
Jesus takes the other."
And...
And I stood up,
and only for a second.
And I turned--
I let go of Judy's hand
and I turned--and Judy
was breathing in okay--
and I turned.
And I went and picked up
her hand, and I looked,
and Beth looked,
and--and--
I mean, I'm talking seconds,
just...
[snaps fingers]
She was gone.
[solemn music]
♪
- I don't--
- You all right, Mads?
I love you.
[sniffles] Oh.
Mm, you're allowed to be sad.
- [sobbing quietly]
- Well, a new chapter
in one family's long fight
for justice
since the man accused
of burning a woman alive
faces a judge,
now charged with m*rder.
- Michael Slager is facing
the death penalty.
- Michael William Slager,
17CR5335.
Two counts of aggravated m*rder
with death specifications
and two counts of m*rder.
- Michael was adamant
that he was innocent
and he wanted a trial.
So the state said,
"Okay we want
the death penalty."
And he didn't waver.
"I'm innocent.
I want a trial."
- Can a person be able
to testify at the trial
of the suspect accused
of k*lling them?
A potential historic decision.
- So we knew
how horrible this thing was,
and we knew that we don't want
a jury to see this.
- The prosecutor,
Ron O'Brien,
calls this case
"unprecedented."
- The defense attorneys
will fight like heck
to keep that testimony
of the victim excluded
from any jury trial.
- I went
to every single hearing,
every single one,
right down to--
we had a hearing to see,
I think,
if he could wear a suit
or something
into the courtroom.
And he was at all those,
and so, I made it sure
that I was at all those,
because I felt like I needed
to be Judy, sitting there.
- Your Honor,
this is what I will share.
These kind of cases don't come
before this court, ever.
And in death penalty cases,
the Supreme Court
has recognized
that more of being processed,
more protection is due,
not less protection
be afforded to Mr. Slager.
- The criminal defendant's
right to confrontation
is of paramount importance,
but the defendant,
in this case,
did have an opportunity
to confront the accuser,
to subject her
to cross-examination.
Two-thirds of the deposition
consist of cross-examination.
- Thank you, God.
- Now on "10,"
an emotional debate
leads to a groundbreaking
court ruling.
A jury will hear the testimony
of Judy Malinowski.
- So you're aware right now
he's going
to plead no contest?
We've said, "No,
it has to be a guilty plea."
- Right, I feel like
Michael has not taken
accountability for anything.
- And Casey said
we'll make sure
the judge knows your position.
Once we're done,
once I have an update,
I'll give you a call.
- Uh-huh.
- And take care. I'll talk
to you in a little bit.
- Okay, thanks.
Hey, little buddy.
Are you feeling sad?
Your heart is broke?
Why is your heart broke?
Because Judy?
You miss Judy?
I miss Judy too,
but you know what?
After Mommy goes to court
and the bad guys
get their punishment,
will you feel better, baby?
- Uh-huh.
[tense music]
♪
- When you're
representing somebody,
and the government says,
"We want to put this guy
to death,"
you know,
you go to bed thinking
about the case
and you wake up
thinking about the case.
I think if we went to trial,
there was a good chance
that a jury would return
a verdict for death.
We had been asking
the prosecutor early on,
you know, give us an offer,
make us an offer,
but you know,
Mike said, "I'm not--
"I can't admit
I did this knowingly.
I didn't do this knowingly.
I--I'm not gonna say that."
And so, we kind of started
working hard on Michael
to swing his head around.
And he had a--he had a good
relationship with his daughter.
And so we--we brought her now,
and then we got permission
from the judge
and from the sheriffs
to bring her in
and have a conversation
with him
with the sole objective
of saying,
you know,
"Dad, don't die."
Here's a guy who did
this horrible thing,
making a decision
of life and death
and how it affects,
you know, his kids.
And that's--it's just hard.
- I'm gonna call your grandpa.
I'm gonna put him on speaker.
- Hello?
- Hey.
I-I have not
told the girls anything,
and I thought I would tell you
at the same time.
Ron O'Brien has
reached out to me
and said that Michael
is willing to plead guilty,
says, You know what, I was
fighting for all along."
And he's willing
to do life in prison
with no chance of parole
in exchange for the death
penalty being off the table.
Her testimony will be unsealed
and given to the family.
I told Ron I would like it
played or shown when he pleas,
but will he really do that?
I don't know.
Do you?
- Yeah, what he said before,
and he got
two different things, so...
- You know, Mr. O'Brien is--
says there's a 50/50 sh*t
that he could back out
on this guilty plea, that--
- Oh, for sure.
- I still have a question.
- Okay.
- You know how, like,
he'll probably have life
with no parole?
- Uh-huh.
- Would it still be okay
if, like,
he wrote letters to his family?
- Mm-hmm.
- Is that still up?
- I would think so, yeah.
- Yeah, because not able
to see anybody or go out.
- He can still
write letters and stuff.
- He can still see people too.
- David?
- But it's life
with no parole.
- Parole is, he can't get out.
- He can't get out,
but his family can still go
and visit him.
- Oh.
- Yeah, that kind of stinks,
'cause you can't see
your mommy.
- Yeah, that's the thing.
It's not fair.
If he--if we don't get
to see part of our family,
he shouldn't get
to see his family.
- Yeah, but it doesn't
bring back our family either.
- Yeah,
but it just makes it fair.
- Life in prison
would mean nothing to him
because he's already been
in prison multiple times.
- Just say you want
the death penalty
'cause you're mad
'cause your mom is gone.
- No, he deserves
the death penalty.
- So, do you believe
in the death penalty?
- Not in all cases,
but in this case.
- If he had the gut
to do that to somebody,
somebody should have the gut
to do it to him.
- Who told you that?
- No, I-I made that up.
- I don't think we should
get all worked up about it
because who knows
what he'll do,
and whatever he does is
in God's hands anyway.
God--God's already
sorted this out.
- Jury selection is set
to begin tomorrow
in the m*rder trial
of Michael Slager.
- Judge Guy Reece sent out
a notice late last night
that there has been
an important development.
- The hearing had suddenly
and unexpectedly
been scheduled
for tomorrow morning.
- Heavenly Father,
and Son, and...
all: Holy spirit. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on Earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive
those who trespass against us.
And lead us
not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
[tense music]
♪
- You may be seated.
- The state of Ohio
versus Michael Slager,
case number 17CR5335.
- If you would, I would ask you
to play the video.
- Judy, can you tell me about
the pain that you live with?
- Objection.
I...
And not...
- I don't want
an eye for an eye.
I don't want malice.
I don't want harm on him.
I heard that he's not sorry.
I really want to understand
why and how he cannot be sorry.
I want him to be sorry.
I guess I want him to be sorry
because she was a human being.
- Judy, I would just like you
to state here,
if you were to die
from your injuries
and Mr. Slager were to be
convicted of having done that,
I want you
to tell a future judge
what you want to see happen
to Mr. Slager.
- Okay.
Thank you, Judy.
- Yeah.
- She didn't believe
in the death penalty.
And while I very much think
Michael Slager deserved to die
for what he did,
I think she had the right
to tell the judge,
who ultimately would impose
the sentence,
what penalty she wanted.
- I think the best thing
for Michael, unfortunately,
was that
that deposition was taken,
that she said what she said.
And-and that ended up--
all those rulings
that we were fighting against
so hard
probably combined in some way
to save his life.
- I think we're done here.
You can k*ll the feed.
Thank you.
- Sir, what's your plea...
- Guilty.
- To one count
of aggravated m*rder
without capital specification?
- Guilty.
- You understand
- Yes, Your Honor.
- You will spend
the rest of your natural life
incarcerated.
- Life in prison
with no chance of parole
is the sentence
for the man convicted
in the m*rder
of Judy Malinowski.
- My mom taught me that
you could stand up to anybody.
- Malinowski gets her wish.
Slager avoids
the death penalty
but will go to prison
for life.
- Do I think he's innocent?
Um...
Yeah, no.
No, I can't--
I-I find it hard to buy.
I find it hard to buy as--
as I would find it
hard to sell to a jury.
If that happened
to a loved one of mine,
that sentence
wouldn't be enough.
I mean,
it just wouldn't be enough.
I don't know what sentence
would be enough, though.
- There are people
in the system,
and the system itself,
that will fight
for people like Judy--
people who aren't perfect,
who aren't saints,
who have baggage.
I'm proud of the fact that,
you know, whether we needed it
to prove the case or not,
that she got to tell her story
and that she got
what she felt was justice.
- Yeah, hi.
Good afternoon.
- Was this the right outcome?
- Yeah, it's what--
it was the right outcome
because it was
what Judy wanted.
- How important was it to you
to hear the word "guilty"
come out of his mouth?
- You know, that held up
a lot in negotiations
because I could not accept
anything but a guilty plea.
It had to be guilty
or not guilty.
There's just no one in between.
[strumming "Let it Be"]
♪
- ♪ When I find in trouble
♪ Sister Judy comes to me
♪
♪ Speaking words of wisdom,
let it be ♪
♪
♪ In my hour of darkness
♪ She's standing
right in front of me ♪
♪ Whisper words of wisdom
♪ Oh, guess you let it be
♪
They say that Judy
wanted to fight more.
And
as I always say,
Judy is known as a
hero.
She wanted to be known
as a hero.
[ambient music]
♪
[laughter]
[light chatter]
- Oh, hey, everybody.
How's it going?
both: "Hi, everybody!"
- "How's it going?"
both: "Everybody."
- [singing]
[muffled music playing]
♪
[light chatter]
- Mama, did you get that?
- No, I haven't.
[chanting]
Fire That Took Her, The (2022)
Moderator: Maskath3